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Friday, July 26, 2013

Review -- L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder

Last week, I posted a review on the Giorgio Armani Maestro Foundation, and I mentioned that I'd seen some discussion about the new L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder being a possible dupe for it.

Since I've really come to like the Giorgio Armani Maestro but don't much like the $62 price tag, I was intrigued by the possibility and decided to pick up the Magic Nude Liquid Powder and see how it compared.

After using it for almost a full week, I have to say that I don't really think it's a dupe.

The concept is certainly the same, and the Magic Nude Liquid Powder definitely isn't a bad foundation but if you've tried the Maestro, I think you may be a little bit disappointed with it.

If you don't have the Masetro to compare it to, though, and don't have extremely oily or extremely dry skin, I think the Magic Nude Liquid Powder could be a really nice summer foundation for you.

Like the Maestro, the L'Oreal foundation has an extremely liquid-y consistency. However, unlike the Maestro, which comes with a medicine dropper type dispenser that helps you control how much product you take out of the bottle, the Magic Nude Liquid Powder just has a simple pour top so it's extremely easy to have too much foundation spill out of the bottle onto the back of your hand when you're applying it.

L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder Bottle

L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder's thin, liquid-y consistency

The bottle itself is kind of neat, sleek packaging, but the fact that it's rather heavy glass does kind of concern me -- I have visions of dropping it on the tile floor of my bathroom and it shattering into a million pieces.

Because of its liquid-y, lightweight consistency, the formula does provide a natural look on the skin, but that also has something to do with the extremely light coverage that it offers. This is certainly not a foundation for anyone who has a lot of acne, hyper-pigmentation or other discolorations that they need to hide. Now, while the Maestro is also a lighter coverage foundation, it definitely offers more coverage than the Magic Nude Liquid Powder, which is one of the reasons I have a tough time calling it a dupe.

It's worth pointing out, though, that because it is a lightweight formula, you can layer the Magic Nude Liquid Powder (like the Maestro) for more coverage. I don't think you're ever going to achieve more than near medium coverage, but it doesn't have to be quite so sheer.

As with the Maestro, it's recommended that you do not apply this foundation with a brush or sponge -- they will absorb way too much of the product and give you an uneven applications. Your fingers are truly the best tools for applying it.

Now, L'Oreal boasts that the foundation transforms from a liquid to a powder but I have to say I don't find that to be true. Because it's such a lightweight formula that blends seamlessly into the skin, you don't necessarily need to top it with a powder -- but if you have oily skin or want the foundation to last more than 5 or so hours, I think powder is a must. The first few days that I wore it, I skipped powder (which is probably a stupid thing to do in summer when NY was in the middle of a record-setting heatwave but ...) and I barely got 5 hours of wear out of it without it starting to fade and go blotchy. When I powder it, I can get about 8 hours out of it -- still not great if you work long hours, but not terrible.

For a point of comparison, I haven't had any issues with the Maestro's wear. I've used it on its own and with powder over it, and it always seems to last until I wash it off.

What's interesting is that even though the Magic Nude Liquid Powder doesn't really have a powdery finish on the skin, it doesn't have the healthy glow that the Maestro offers either. That's one of the main reasons that it can't compare to the Giorgio Armani version in my book -- the Maestro makes me look like I have naturally luminous, shine-free skin. The Magic Nude Liquid Powder looks a bit more like makeup, at least on my skin.

If you have super oily skin, I just don't think the Magic Nude Liquid Powder will do enough to keep your shine in check -- maybe with a mattifying primer and an oil-control powder on top, but there are probably better foundations for your skin type out there.

If you have super dry skin, I suspect that the Magic Nude Liquid Powder will do the same thing to your skin that the Maestro initially did to mine back in the winter -- cling to every dry, flaky patch on your face and make you look a gazilion years old. There are definitely better foundations for you out there too.

I purchased the foundation in the lightest shade, 310 Light Ivory, and it's a pretty good match for my skin, though it does lean slightly yellow. I was a little worried about the color matching since I'd read that the foundation ran dark, but that hasn't been my experience.

L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder in 310 Light Ivory

I paid $12.99 for the foundation at my local CVS (though I had $5 in Extra Bucks to put toward it and received another $3 in Extra Bucks after buying it as a part of a special on L'Oreal products -- gotta love those Extra Bucks!), and the bottle contains 0.91 fluid ounces, slightly less than the usual 1 fluid ounces that most foundations offer.

If I'd never tried the Maestro, I probably would repurchase the L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder. However, having seen a similiar product perform a whole lot better on my skin, I'm not sure that I will. I would rather save up for the Giorgio Armani version or simply go without this type of foundation in my collection.

I'm really curious to hear what others think about it, though.

Have you tried the L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder? What do you think of the foundation?